Knife-sharpener.



R. W. PERRY.

KNIFE SHARPENER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21. 1915.

l 1 8 l ,1 61 I Patented May 2, 1916.

R rays REUBEN W. PERRY, 0F SPENCER, MASSACHUSETTS.

KNIFE-SHARPENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 2, 1916.

Application filed June 21, 1915. Serial No. 35,201.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, REUBEN W. PERRY, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Spencer, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Knife- Sharpeners, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide an efficient knife sharpener of simple, relatively inexpensive and durable construction, adapted to sharpen a blade without unduly wearing or removing the material of the same, and capable of utilizing, as a sharpening member, a rod or body of abrasive material, which may be made from a mass of granular material, such as emery or carborundum suitably agglutinated and molded into an elongated rod or stick.

The invention also has for its object to provide a construction permitting such relative adjustments of the sharpening member and the means for guiding a blade in contact therewith, as will enable diiferent portions of the sharpening surface to be utilized until the member is worn out.

To these and other related ends the invention consists in the improvements which I will now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings forming a. part of this specification: Figure 1 represents a side view of a knife sharpener embodying my invention; Fig. 2 represents an end view of the same; Fig. 3 represents a top view; Fig. 4 represents a section on line 4.4: of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 represents a side view of a different form of knife sharpener e1nbodying the invention; Fig. 6 represents an end view of the form shown by Fig. 5; Fig. 7 represents a viewsimilar to Fig. 5, showing a modification.

The same reference characters indicate the same or similar parts in all the views.

The sharpening member of my improved knife sharpener is preferably an elongated straight rodor stick 12, which may be conveniently molded from granular abrasive material, such as emery, carborundum, etc., the granular material being mixed with a suitable adhesive and molded to the desired form. It will be understood however that the sharpener member may be made from natural stone or other suitable material.

The member 12 preferably has a rounded form in cross section, said section being preferably elliptical, as indicated by Fig. 3.

The sharpening member 12 is embraced by a clamp adapted to be expanded and contracted, the clamp when contracted firmly grasping the sharpening member at a suitable point between its ends. The clamp carries a knife guide, which is so arranged relatively to the sharpening member that a portion of the surface of the sharpening member forms one side of a tapering knifereceiving recess or throat, the other side of which is formed by the knife-guide, said guide being adapted to hold a knife blade against the surface of the sharpening member in such manner that an endwise movement of the blade will cause its edge to be sharpened by the sharpening member. Two knife guides and knife-receiving throats are preferably provided, as herein described.

Figs. 1, 2 and 3 illustrate my invention embodied in a sharpener adapted to be secured to a table or shelf 13, indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. In this embodiment of the invention the clamp comprises a back member 14 provided with means for engagement with the support 13, and preferably formed as a metallic casting, and a front member formed from a single length of wire and including two loops 15 and a neck 16 connecting said loops. The back member 14 is provided with a seat 17 (Fig. 3) on which a portion of the sharpening member bears and with laterally projecting cars 18, which are perforated to receive bolts 19 passing through the loops 15 and having heads bearing on the outer side of said loops. The neck portion 16 of the outer clamp member bears on the outer side of the sharpening member 12. The bolts 19 are provided with nuts 20 hearing on the ears 1S and adapted to be adjusted to cause the clamp members to firmly embrace the sharpening member and to release the latter and permit its endwise adjustment.

The ends of the length of wire forming,

the outer clamp member are extended to form two arms 21, which diverge from each other and from adjacent surfaces of the sharpening member 12, the arrangement being such that portions of said arms are practically in contact with the sharpening memher at the points 22 (Fig. 41), other portions of said arms diverging from the adjacent surfaces of the sharpening member, so that two tapering knife-receiving throats 23 are formed, one side of each throat being formed by a portion of the surface of the sharpening member and the other side by one of the arms 21. Said arms therefore constitute guides adapted to hold a knife blade against the sharpening member so that when the blade is moved endwise its edge will be sharpened by said member.

The clamp member 14- is provided with an arm 25 adapted to bear on the top of the support 13 and a lower arm 26 having a screw-threaded orifice engaging a clamping screw 27 adapted to bear on the under side of the support 13.

It will now be seen that provision is made for guiding a knife blade with its edge in contact with the sharpening member 12 and for adjusting said sharpening member lengthwise relatively to the clamp to bring different parts of the surface of the sharpening member into operative relation with the arms or knife guides 21. It will also be seen that the cross sectional form of the sharpening member 12 is such that after its outer portion, namely, that projecting from the seat 17 has been worn out the member may be axially adjusted to locate another portion of its perimeter at the outer side. Provision is therefore made for utilizing large areas of the surface of the sharpening member, the side of said knife-receiving throat formed by the sharpening member being renewable by endwise adjustment to compensate for wear.

Figs. 5 and 6 show my invention embodied in a sharpener adapted to be supported by one hand of the operator. In this embodiment of the invention the clamp is composed of a wire loop 28 formed to embrace the sharpening member 12 and constituting a part of a length of wire which is bent to form two eyes 29 at opposite ends of the loop and two knife guiding arms 30 and 31 diverging from each other and from the adjacent surfaces of the sharpening member. A. bolt or screw 32 passes through the eyes 29 and has a head bearing on one of said eyes and a nut 33 hearing on the other eye. When said nut is tightened the clamp is caused to firmly embrace the sharpening member, and when the nut is loosened it releases the sharpening member and permits the described adjustments thereof. One end of the arm 30 is bent to form a shank portion 34. The arm 30 is extended and bent to form the portions 35 and 36 shown by Fig. 5, and the shank portion 37 located beide the shank portion 34. The shank portions 34 and 37 are inserted in one end of a handle 38 adapted to be grasped by one hand of the operator.

It will be seen that the arms 30 and 31 constitute blade guides, which cooperate with the sharpening member in forming tapered blade-receiving throats.

If desired, the handle 38 and the shank portions 34 and 37 may be omitted, as indicated by Fig. 7, the ends of the portions 31 and 36 being welded or otherwise connected at 39 and the sharpening member being elongated to form a handle portion 12, as shown by Fig. 7.

I have found that either of the above described embodiments of my invention is adapted to sharpen a knife to a smooth and keen edge without cutting or planing away chips of the metal, the action of the sharpener being much the same as that of an ordi-' nary Whetstone or stick to which a blade is applied by hand as usual, with the advantage that the sharpening action is much more accurate and rapid, especially when performed by an unskilled operator.

Having described my invention, I claim: 1. A knife sharpener comprising an elongated sharpening member having a rounded form in cross section; a contractible clamp adapted to be adjustably secured to said member at different distances from the ends thereof; and a blade guide carried by and adjustable with said clamp and diverging from the sharpening member, said guide and the adjacent portion of the sharpening member forming a tapering blade-receiving throat, one side of which is formed by said sharpening member and is renewable by adjustments of the latter relatively to the clamp and arm.

2. A knife sharpener comprising a sharpening member having a rounded form in cross section; a contractible clamp adapted to be adjustably secured to said member at different distances from the ends thereof; and a pair of oppositely inclined blade guides carried by and adjustable with said clamp and diverging from the sharpening member, said guides and the adjacent portions of the sharpening member forming two' tapering blade-receiving throats, one. side of each throat being formed by the sharpening member and renewable by adjustments" of the latter relatively to the clamp and arms.

3. A knife sharpener comprising a sharpening member composed of an elongated straight rod of abraslve material having a rounded form in cross section and a clamp adapted to embrace said member atzdiflerent distances from the ends thereof, and pro-' straight rod of abrasive material having'a rounded form in cross section and a clamp ends of said wire being extended to form a com osed of an elongated back member havpair of arms diverging from each other and ing a sharpening member seat and supp0rtfrom the sharpening member, said arms con- 10 engaging means; a front member composed stituting knife guides.

of a length of wire bent to form a pair of In testimony whereof I have aflixed my loops; and adjustable clamping connections signature.

between said loops and back member, the REUBEN W. PERRY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner 0! l'atents. Washington, D. C." 

